Mid mount hydraulic grader blade

[jenkinsph]

JD,
I will be finishing a driveway this morning where the midmount blade could be useful. It would reduce the hand raking and speed up the process. That said it is very light duty and shallow in height and would only be useful for finish grading loose material. No down pressure.

I can relate to keeping the cost down on your order and would strongly suggest an x748 with the 7 iron deck and 3PH kit. Catch your breath and look for good deals on small new/used attachments one at a time.

When purchasing the x749 if I had found the 3PH to be useless or ineffective I would have moved up to a 2520 for the small difference in cost. But it has worked out pretty well and I have the right machine for the slopes I need it for.

 

[bigtiller]

Check this - I think you will find the mid-mount blade lift is off the rockshaft. It does not have downpressure - it's only the weight of the blade keeping it down, not the weight of the tractor.

Regarding the 3 point hitch, I have a Cat 0 on a 455. It's certainly not as versatile as a stronger, Cat 1 hitch on a larger tractor, but I find mine very useful. I have an A-frame with a trailer ball and pallet forks, and it's great for moving heavy items such as my snowblower attachment and mower deck, and dragging trailers around the lot. I can do all that by hand, but the 3 point makes it easy and quick - and I need to remind myself that while I can currently horse around 307 pounds of mower deck, I may not be able to do so as I get older.

Tim

That's what I was thinking but I just don't know too much about them. They still look like fun to me! If they made one for my 2305 I would probably have one.

 

[JDTank]

Check this - I think you will find the mid-mount blade lift is off the rockshaft. It does not have downpressure - it's only the weight of the blade keeping it down, not the weight of the tractor.

Regarding the 3 point hitch, I have a Cat 0 on a 455. It's certainly not as versatile as a stronger, Cat 1 hitch on a larger tractor, but I find mine very useful. I have an A-frame with a trailer ball and pallet forks, and it's great for moving heavy items such as my snowblower attachment and mower deck, and dragging trailers around the lot. I can do all that by hand, but the 3 point makes it easy and quick - and I need to remind myself that while I can currently horse around 307 pounds of mower deck, I may not be able to do so as I get older.

Tim

Well that's a downer!

Still, I am going to order it anyways.

Given the information you guys have given me, my new plan is

This year:
X748SE
7-Iron
Front 54'' blade
MM grader blade

Next year:
647 tiller
3PT
Rear PTO

I figure I can use the tiller to break up the ground in my high spots, then once the soil is nice and loose, I can move it with my front blade, or the MM grader blade. That will have to wait until next year but, at least I will have a good summer of enjoyable cutting.

 

[slowzuki]

How about one like this? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZumzDkGFgsM]Grouser Products Belly Blade - YouTube[/ame]
Probably won't fit under a sub cut!

 

[JDTank]

Looks interesting. Would be nice under a 4x20 machine.

 

[psdx]

Looks like a nice piece of equipment for just the right ocassion. The funny thing about that video is that the shots they use almost all have lots of large dirt clods being moved by the mid-mount blade. It seems to me that the real use of this device is after the soil is pulverized. Who cares about a perfect grade when you still have dirt chunks the size of footballs?

 

[bigtiller]

Well that's a downer!

Still, I am going to order it anyways.

Given the information you guys have given me, my new plan is

This year:
X748SE
7-Iron
Front 54'' blade
MM grader blade

Next year:
647 tiller
3PT
Rear PTO

I figure I can use the tiller to break up the ground in my high spots, then once the soil is nice and loose, I can move it with my front blade, or the MM grader blade. That will have to wait until next year but, at least I will have a good summer of enjoyable cutting.

If you are seriously considering a tiller next year, it would be less expensive to but a 2305 or one of the new 10 series tractors. They already have the 3ph and rear PTO which will cost you some big money to put on an X748. It cost me $1150 for an X495 back in 2003. I'd guess it will be somewhere around $1500 next year. Maybe more, I don't have time to look it up now.

 

[JDTank]

Personally, I don't like the new 1 series machines.

The reason I am going with the X748SE is because this machine is specifically being purchased for mowing duties. There is no competition between a X748 and the 1 series, the X748 is a much better mowing machine in my opinion. The operators area is quite a bit more comfortable on the X748SE as well, and no ROPS to deal with, big plus.

If I used the tractor 150 days a year, 140 of those will be mowing, so in this case, there is nothing better for me.

 

[jenkinsph]

JD,
Since you are using this primarily as a mower you might want to check into the mounting of the mid blade. Find out how it hooks up and how long it takes to switch from mower to blade and back. I haven't seen one up close but this would be my biggest concern or question. Obviously you can't drive over the blade and have to slide it under the machine. If it is heavy enough to do any good that can't be easy to slide.

 

[JDTank]

JD,
Since you are using this primarily as a mower you might want to check into the mounting of the mid blade. Find out how it hooks up and how long it takes to switch from mower to blade and back. I haven't seen one up close but this would be my biggest concern or question. Obviously you can't drive over the blade and have to slide it under the machine. If it is heavy enough to do any good that can't be easy to slide.

I was thinking the same thing myself a few days ago, and I am still waiting for my salesman to get back to me on that.

When I asked him how it mounted to the tractor, he didn't have a clue, they don't seem to sell to many of them, I think a lot of people skip right over it in the brochure. A lot of people don't even look at the brochure. Every average joe knows there's basic attachments like snow blades, snow blowers, and mowing decks, I bet hardly anyone who doesn't know would ask "do you have a grader blade for this?"

I wish John Deere had a video for every attachment they sell. I know it would be a lot of up-front work, but it would be nice to see it demonstrated before you drop the dollars.